Morning News Call - India, May 22

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(Morning News Call - India edition will not be published on Monday, May 25,
as markets are closed for Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramzan Id))
FACTORS TO WATCH
3:00 pm: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet heads of state-run
banks to review credit flow in New Delhi.
4:00 pm: Health ministry will brief on COVID-19 situation in New Delhi.
INDIA TOP NEWS
•Fare caps, protective suits for crew among rules as India begins flights
Ticket pricing restrictions, protective suits and goggles for flight
attendants and no food served on board planes are among the rules proposed by
India's civil aviation ministry on Thursday as it prepares to resume domestic
flying within days.
•KKR to invest $1.5 billion in Reliance Industries' digital unit, biggest
deal in Asia
Reliance Industries said KKR will invest $1.5 billion in Jio Platforms,
marking the fifth fundraising deal in a month by its digital unit and bringing
the total amount of new investment to $10 billion.
•Strides Pharma to conduct trials in India for potential COVID-19 drug
Strides Pharma Science on Thursday received regulatory approval to start
clinical trials of antiviral drug favipiravir, which has been touted as a
potential treatment for COVID-19.
•Cyclone kills at least 82 in India and Bangladesh, flooding lowlands
The most powerful cyclone to strike eastern India and Bangladesh in over a
decade killed at least 82 people, officials said, as rescue teams scoured
devastated coastal villages on Thursday, hampered by torn down power lines and
widespread flooding.
•Malaysia to strengthen trade ties with India after palm oil purchases
Malaysia voiced its commitment to further strengthen diplomatic and trade
ties with India, after the world's largest edible oil buyer renewed purchases of
Malaysian palm oil, in a sign of improving relations between the two
countries.
•Amazon taps into food delivery services in India
Amazon.com is rolling out services to deliver food in India, pitting it
against established players Swiggy and Zomato in a market that has seen
explosive growth in the last few years.
•India's Swiggy, Zomato start booze deliveries during COVID-19 lockdown
India's top two food-delivery startups, Swiggy and Zomato, will begin
delivering alcohol in some cities starting from Thursday, as they cash in on the
high demand for booze during the country's coronavirus lockdown.
GLOBAL TOP NEWS
•China drops GDP goal, pledges higher spending as parliament starts
China omitted a 2020 economic growth target for the first time and pledged
government support for the economy in Premier Li Keqiang's work report on
Friday, launching the country's annual parliament meeting.
•U.S. secures 300 million doses of potential AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
The United States has secured almost a third of the first 1 billion doses
planned for AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine by pledging up to $1.2
billion, as world powers scramble for medicines to get their economies back to
work.
•Japan's core consumer prices slip into deflation for first time in 3 years
Japan's core consumer prices fell for the first time in more than three
years in April on an annual basis, as weak oil prices and coronavirus lockdown
measures heightened deflation risks.
LOCAL MARKETS OUTLOOK
(As reported by NewsRise)
• SGX Nifty nearest-month futures were trading 0.4% lower at 9,029.50.
• The Indian rupee is expected to open lower against the dollar tracking
losses in regional equities and currencies after China moved to increase control
over Hong Kong, prompting U.S. lawmakers to propose sanctions.
• The Indian federal bond yields will likely edge lower in early session, as
a surprise press briefing by the country’s central bank Governor later today
raised bets of supportive measures to manage the yield curve, with some traders
expecting another round of monetary easing.The yield on the benchmark 6.45% bond
maturing in 2029 is likely to trade in a range of 5.98%-6.04% till the address.
GLOBAL MARKETS
• Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, a day after hitting two-month highs,
on a fresh wave of China-U.S. tensions that raised doubts about the trade deal
reached early this year between the world's two largest economies.
• Hong Kong shares tumbled after Beijing moved to impose a new security law
on the city after last year's pro-democracy unrest, risking fresh protests and
further straining fast-deteriorating U.S.-China ties.
• The dollar held gains against major peers as worries about renewed
diplomatic tensions between the United States and China supported safe-haven
demand for the greenback.
• U.S. long-dated Treasury prices inched higher on Thursday in choppy
trading, as investors were relieved that the flood of debt supply from the
government to finance its stimulus programs was absorbed in the market fairly
smoothly.
• Oil prices were on the rise, heading for a fourth straight week of gains,
amid more evidence that fuel demand is recovering as countries ease business and
social restrictions that were imposed to counter the coronavirus pandemic.
• Gold prices inched up, after falling more-than 1% in the previous session,
as rising concerns over U.S.-China relations weighed on risk appetite, although
the metal still looked to be headed for a weekly loss.
CLOSE FII INVESTMENTS EQUITIES DEBT
PNDF spot 75.63/75.66 May 21 (1,700.19) crore 235.52 crore
10-yr bond 6.03 pct Month-to-date 9,295 crore (20,054) crore
yield
Year-to-date (45,619) crore (102,533) crore
(FII investment numbers are in Indian rupees. Source: National Securities
Depository Limited)
For additional data:
India govt bond market volumes
Stock market reports
Non-deliverable forwards data
Corporate debt stories [IN CORPD]
Local market closing/intraday levels [IN SNAPSHOT]
Monthly inflows [INFLOWS RTRS TABLE IN]
($1 = 75.62 Indian rupees)
(Compiled by Prajakta Gadgil in Bengaluru)